The Taliban commander’s sneakers had soaked through from the melting snow, but that was the least of his problems. It was avalanche season in the Salang Pass, a rugged cut of switchback roads that gash through the Hindu Kush mountains in northern Afghanistan like some man-made insult to nature, and he was determined to keep the essential trade route open during his first season as its caretaker.

‘Fighting was easier’: Taliban take on a treacherous, avalanche-prone pass

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has banned the cultivation and distribution of opium along with a total ban on other intoxicants.

Taliban ban opium cultivation, distribution in Afghanistan in the latest crackdown on intoxicants

The Taliban announced on Sunday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer. "As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country," according to an order from the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Taliban ban poppy cultivation in Afghanistan

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reportedly indicated on China's willingness to recognise teh Taliban regime in Afghanistan. South China Morning Post has reported that Wang said China would recognise the regime ‘when conditions are ripe’.

China will recognise Taliban regime ‘when conditions are ripe’: Report

Russia has accredited a diplomat from the Taliban to engage with the new Afghan government but remains concerned about the threat of Islamist groups spilling over into Russia via Central Asia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Russia accredits Taliban envoy, voices concern about Islamist groups

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday left for China on a three-day visit, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, to attend a conclave on Afghanistan, Dawn reported.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi leaves for China to attend conclave on Afghanistan

Choking on dust, Mir Abdul Hadi emerged from the narrow mine shaft with a sack of coal hanging heavy on his back and his skin stained black. For hours he had hacked away at the coal in the dark tunnel, terrified it might collapse on him, and now he was relieved to step back into sunlight.

Desperate for cash, Afghans toil in mines that are deadlier than ever

A US representative will join a meeting with Chinese, Russian and Pakistan envoys on Afghanistan this week, Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong will host this meeting, said Wang Wenbin, a ministry spokesman.

China says U.S. representative will attend Afghanistan meeting in China

Taliban hard-liners are turning back the clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark to their harsh rule from the late 1990s.

Taliban hardliners turning back the clock in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the Taliban are continuously enacting new restrictions to severely restrict women's rights. The abrupt reversal shattered the notion that the Taliban now had a more "moderate" leadership, and such confidence was further shattered a few days ago when the Afghan government reversed a vow to allow girls to attend school.

'No amusement': Taliban dictate different days for men and women to visit fun parks

Young Afghans are using cryptocurrencies to circumvent western sanctions on the Taliban regime. Why is crypto exempt from sanctions? How are Afghan youth harnessing its power? Mariam Wardak tells you.

South Asia Diary: Afghans use cryptocurrency to sidestep sanctions

Afghanistan's Taliban has instructed all government employees to wear a beard and adhere to a dress code or risk being fired, three sources told Reuters, the latest of several new restrictions imposed by the hardline Islamist administration.

Taliban bar government employees without beards from work

The Taliban said Thursday they had assured Beijing's most senior diplomat about any concerns China thinks may "emerge from Afghan soil", ahead of a key meeting with their neighbours next week.

Taliban vow to address 'all concerns' of China as Wang visits

The Taliban have told airlines in Afghanistan that women cannot board domestic or international flights without a male chaperone, two sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Taliban ban Afghan women from flying without male chaperones, says report

Women's rights activists pledged Sunday to launch a wave of protests across Afghanistan if the Taliban fail to reopen girls' secondary schools within a week. Thousands of secondary school girls had flocked to classes on Wednesday after the hardline Islamists reopened their institutions for the first time since seizing power last August.

Nationwide protests if Afghan girls' schools stay shut: Activists

The Taliban have reversed a decision to allow teenage girls back to secondary school despite repeated assurances they could resume classes from Wednesday. Now, US has cancelled Doha meet due to this decision of Taliban.

US cancels Doha meet after Taliban close school for girls

The Taliban have reversed a decision to allow teenage girls back to secondary school despite repeated assurances they could resume classes from Wednesday.

Taliban reverses decision to allow girls to attend secondary schools in Afghanistan

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai said on Saturday that the Taliban's ban on girls' education won't last forever. She emphasized that Afghan women now knew what it was to be "empowered".

Ban on girls' education won't last in Afghanistan, says Malala 

About two dozen girls and women chanting "open the schools" protested in the Afghan capital Saturday against the Taliban's decision to shut their secondary schools just hours after re-opening them this week.

'Open the schools': Afghan girls protest in Kabul

The United States and its allies have condemned the Taliban's decision to go back on its word and allow secondary schools for females in Afghanistan to reopen on Thursday.

US and allies slam Taliban ban on girls' education

The United States and its allies condemned the Taliban's decision to go back on its word and allow secondary schools for females in Afghanistan to reopen on Thursday, and demanded that the Islamic movement allow such schools to reopen.

'Every Afghan girl has right to education': US, allies slam Taliban ban on girls' education

Days after the Taliban staged a cruel U-turn on allowing Afghan girls back to school, Adeeba Haidari feels as if she is in prison. The 13-year-old was one of thousands of jubilant girls who flocked back to secondary schools reopening across the country on Wednesday, for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August.

'We thought Taliban had changed': Afghan girls banned from school

In a major setback for girls' education in war-torn Afghanistan, the Taliban has gone back on its promise of allowing girls to attend schools. Now, U.S, allies call on the Taliban to reopen schools in Afghanistan.

U.S, allies call on Taliban to reopen girls' schools in war-torn Afghanistan

The Taliban have reversed a decision to allow teenage girls back to secondary school despite repeated assurances they could resume classes from Wednesday. WION speaks to Fariah Saidi, Journalist and women's right activist for more insights.

Taliban reverse decision to allow girls attend secondary school

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